What's Wrong, Young Master?
by TheVideoGamer
Summary: Ciel met her at a ball. The strange, irritating girl who came uninvited and wouldn't get off his back. As it turns out, he and Sebastian bit off a bit more than they could chew by allowing her to stay. Slight Character X OC, but eventual SebaCiel. Don't like it, don't read it, Darling.
1. Chapter 1

"What's wrong, Young Master?"

"This ball was a waste of time," Ciel grumbled, looking around the huge room of music and dancing people. There were tuxedos and puffy, spinning dresses as far as the eye could see. He set his head in his hand and sighed, utterly bored.

"You'd likely be more entertained if you danced."

"I hate dancing. Besides, there's no one to dance with."

"Hm..." Sebastian thought for a moment. It was true - his master's fiance, Elizabeth, hadn't been able to attend, and now Ciel had nothing better to do than sit alone. "Now, isn't _that_ an odd sight," his butler said suddenly.

"What?" Ciel looked up. Sure enough, there was a girl in a white tuxedo, smiling as she watched the people dance. Or, no. _Smirking_.

"Is that a woman dressed incorrectly, or an extremely feminine man?"

"A lady. Perhaps she was bored of ball gowns?" Sebastian snickered.

Ciel shrugged. "I don't give a damn."

Just then, the style of music switched to a calmer one. People began to turn and sway to a slower beat.

"You know I could always be your dance partner, if you wish," the demon offered.

Ciel's eyes narrowed and he turned to face his butler. The lord was about to reply irritably, when he was suddenly cut off.

"Excuse me."

He turned to see the same woman that they'd been talking about, standing not two feet away from him. She bowed - not curtsied - bowed, and held out a gloved hand as she rose. "Do you have any interest in a dance? I promise it will be quick and painless."

His eyes narrowed. "I was speaking to my butler. Please be mindful of when you rudely cut into a conversation."

She smirked, as she'd been doing earlier, but didn't drop the hand that was extended toward him. "My sincerest apologies. Would you like to dance, My Lord?"

Ciel heard Sebastian scoff behind him. "You should appease her, Young Master. You might enjoy yourself."

Ciel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Alright then, My _Lady_… if that's what you prefer to be called."

Her sneer widened a bit at the edges, glancing down at at her hand, implying for him to take it.

"You have this backward," he sighed agan, hesitantly taking her hand and letting her pull him toward the center of the floor. "Is it not the lord who takes the hand of the lady?"

She shrugged, putting one hand on his hip and keeping the fingers of her other intertwined with his. "Usually. I beg that you just appease me tonight, as your butler suggested. Besides, you'll likely never see me again anyway."

Ciel didn't like it, but he decided to play along and put his free hand on her shoulder as if he was the female. "...Ugh… I suppose that's alright."

Just then, the violinists set their bows at the tip and the pianist readied his fingers.

The music began.

"'Minuet', by Boccherini?" The stranger looked over at the orchestra. "I remember playing this one last year."

"Do you play violin?"

She nodded.

"Hm. As do I."

Her smile grew wider yet, flashing him a glint of her white teeth. Well-groomed, he thought. High-class, if the nice clothes and lack of concern for what others think didn't give it away.

This girl was cocky.

And he didn't like her. It was enough that she was a pain to dance with, clearly older by a couple of years considering their height-difference, and she never, _ever_ seemed to let him lead as they swayed to step after step.

It _was_ a bit fun, however. She never dropped her smile, as egoistic as it was, and she danced with an untraditional spring to her step, as if she was having the time of her life. Of course, nothing about the girl was exactly traditional.

"You're the earl who owns this manor, yes?" She spoke suddenly.

He gave her a nod.

"You don't strike me as one who enjoys events like this."

He shrugged. "I'm not... And now that you remind me that this is _my _event… I must say, _I don't remember inviting you_." His eyes narrowed.

The girl laughed, loudly. Rudely.

"Let's call me a plus-one, then."

"No, I'd much rather call you a trespasser."

She flipped some blonde hair from her face. It was down around her shoulders in a messy, unprofessional, and entirely inappropriate fashion. Everything about her was wrong from her men's dress shoes to her cold, grayish-blue eyes.

"If you tell me to leave, I will."

The music ended and their dance came to a halt. Her grip on his hand tightened slightly, and she leaned in, inches from his face. "I don't think you're going to do that, though."

CIel jerked his fingers out of the stranger's vice-like grip and stepped back. "What makes you so sure?" His voice was raised, and held irritation.

This almost seemed to fuel the stranger's good mood. Crossing her hands over her chest, she said, "Because I was about to offer to fetch you a drink."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Another dance, then?"

"No."

"Why not?" She asked, stepping forward to close off the space between them again. "Do I intimidate you?" The girl whispered.

"Ugh! I'm done with you!" He pulled back a hand and she set hers behind her back, as if waiting patiently…

"Young Master."

He looked up to find that Sebastian was holding onto his wrist. "...What, Sebastian?"

"I don't believe it would be in your best interest to strike your guests."

Ciel took his hand back as soon as the demon released him. "She's not even a guest. She arrived uninvited."

"Is that so?" He looked down at the girl in front of him.

"Hello, Sebastian!"

Ciel turned toward the demon sharply as soon as she said that. "Does she know you?!"

"No, Young Master. She likely just heard you say it."

"..." He glared over his shoulder at her.

"Now then, Ms… oh dear, I don't believe I know your name?" Sebastian asked the stranger.

She shrugged, mouth settling back into that smirk. "It's not very interesting. I'd prefer not to be called by one."

"Alright then, My Lady. What brings you to this ball tonight?"

"Why, Ciel of course!" She chuckled. "Who else?"

Sebastian smirked slightly as well. "I'm sorry, but there must be a misunderstanding. My master doesn't recall inviting you. He'd like for you to leave now."

"Hmm… nah." She shook her head. "Let's make a deal! I want one last dance from the lovely lord himself, and that will be my chance to prove myself a worthy guest!"

Sebastian looked down at his master. "It's up to you."

Ciel irritably fidgeted with the sapphire ring on this thumb. "...If it will get you to leave without Sebastian having to take drastic measures, then we have a deal."

"Great!" She clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Let's just hurry this along.

"Kay." She held out her hand as she'd done before.

Ciel took it and another song began in perfect timing.

The violins began to trill a very high note. A lone piano cut in dramatically, as if alone in a fog. If such things existed yet, the piece could've been described as cinematic. Ciel recognized it immediately as a song he actually liked quite a bit, and it must have shown on his face because the lady asked.

"Your favorite song?" She questioned, pulling him along as they danced.

The earl stumbled to catch up and stepped on her foot, but she didn't seem to care. Not that he planned to apologize either way. He replied, "I don't suppose you could call it _that_-"

"-But it's a song you like more than any other, yes?"

The cellos began to lead a warm melody as the pianist melted into the background. "Don't put words in my mouth," he grumbled quickly and stubbornly. His face began to burn. No, no, no! She would get the wrong idea! He was only embarrassed because he hated how easily she picked at people. It felt like she was trying to dissect him, and he hated it.

Ciel didn't look up until his face felt cool again. To his surprise, her smirk had melted into a smile almost as warm as the beautiful sound of those cellos. "You're so cute."

He narrowed his eyes. "Who do you think you are, making such blunt comments?"

She shrugged, not dropping that warm grin. He was starting to miss that damned sneer from before. "Pardon my manners. I don't have any."

"While we're stuck like this for the entirety of a song, why don't you tell me why you came here, exactly?"

"Oh, well, there's no special reason." She looked up at a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It held an uncountable amount of glimmering candles, perched on branches decorated in clear crystals that draped from them. They were swinging ever so slightly with the noise of the orchestra. "I thought I already told you, though. For you."

"What do you mean, though? What about me?"

"Just…" Her hand slid up from his waist, all the way to his cheek.

He frowned. "What are you doing-"

"Just you. It takes a lot to have this effect on me, but I saw you out one day and decided that I had to meet you."

"Ah, I understand it now." He pushed her hand off of his face. "You're attracted to me. I'll have you know that you're wasting your time. Love is nothing but a false sense of attachment that humans ignorantly mistake for a miracle."

And then suddenly, that genuine expression of hers was gone. Her increasingly fake-looking smirk reappeared, and she nodded. "Oh, yes! I couldn't agree more. But isn't it fun to play pretend? You may not remember, but it's a wonderful thing to be able to to remember that it's all just fiction. That you can stop whenever you want to, and go back to the way things really are. You poor soul, though. You've been forced to be an adult inside. Your eyes… have no sparkle."

The music died down to a pianissimo, and as if to choreograph her movements to the sound, she leaned in again. The violins climbed into another high trill. "No shimmering effect. No trill. Just silence. I thought, if I came to this party tonight…"

Her face, for the first time that night, became stoic and unreadable. The entire time, the only way to understand the stranger was through her bold expressions, and now it was if they'd suddenly vanished. She neither smiled nor frowned.

"...Then maybe I could give you fun that reminded you how to be happy and reckless."

"..." He was silent for a moment. "A single glance on the street did all of this to you?"

The music began to fade out. "Well… a few. For… several months now."

Soon, the ballroom was filled with the sound of nothing but shuffling feet.

"Who are you?"

And back up went the corners of her ever-changing mouth, just a bit this time. It relieved him slightly that he could read her tone again. "Sorry, My Lord. But the song has ended and it looks like I'm out of time with you."

Ciel shook his head. "I'll allow you to stay for the rest of the party, on the condition that you'll explain to me whatever the hell you're talking about."

She nodded, smile growing wide. "Yay! Thank you so much!" The lady left their dancing position and lowered herself into a kneel before the earl. She took his hand and kissed it politely. "Thank you for the dance."

His face burned red again, and he looked away- right into the laughing face of Sebastian, across the room. Why the hell did she have to do that?!

"...You're welcome, I suppose."


	2. Chapter 2

"Shall we go somewhere more quiet to talk?" She asked. "Like somewhere else in the manor?"

Ciel shrugged, thinking it through. He didn't completely trust her, considering she'd admitted to "watching him" or whatever for several years, and was a little more than a year to be alone with him.

But he had Sebastian. There was no reason to fear.

"Alright. I'll take you to my study. Please follow me." He turned and began to leave the ballroom. As they left, he made sure to give his butler a glance and a nod. Sebastian would know to keep an even closer eye on his master than usual.

"Please try not to touch anything," the earl began as they stepped into the much smaller space. Bookshelves lined the walls and, right in front of the window, sat the desk where he sat every day.

"Wow, I'd love to have an office like this!" The stranger explained, running in and sitting down in a chair across from the desk.

"Don't you? Your father must be an earl as well, or something of the sort," Ciel said, sitting down at the desk to face her.

She shrugged.

"Alright, from this point on, if I ask, you must answer. Deal?" The boy asked sternly.

"Hm… well, to an extent. I only have to _try_ to answer, right?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

The lady shook her head. "Nothing."

"First question," he began, noticing that some of the hall lighting that seeped in from under the door had just been blocked off. Sebastian must've been standing directly outside.

However subtle, some of the lord's worry immediately melted way. Though he refused to fully admit to himself that this girl intimidated him at all.

"First question?" She motioned for him to go on.

"What is your name?"

"My name?" She repeated, leaning back in the chair and resting her hands behind her head.

"Indeed." She was stalling, wasn't she?

The girl gave a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Rose."

"Are you lying?"

"No. Rose."

"Last name?" It couldn't hurt to be able to do a little bit of background checking on her.

She shrugged. "I don't know! I like to think it

s something really cool and majestic, though!"

Ciel narrowed his eyes. "I'm not one who appreciates humor, if you're trying to make a joke."

She shook her head. "Nope. I'm being honest."

There was a silence as he waited for her to elaborate.

"Well, are you going to tell me why you don't have a last name?"

She shook her head. "Not unless you ask. But this is boring. Feel free to ask more questions, but I really don't want to just sit here."

"Alright." He crossed one leg over the other and set his hands in his lap. "What do you propose we do then?"

Rose stood up and leaned forward, putting her hands on the desk. "How about we make this interesting?"

She leaned forward.

"I-" He was cut off as her lips made contact with his. Ciel's eyes widened and he pushed her off after a second. "What the hell was that?!" He asked frantically, pushing her shoulders back and wiping his mouth like a startled sixth grader. Not that he was very far off from that, but the earl liked to be an adult instead of a child, as we all know.

The blonde stumbled back slightly, but quickly regained her composure and smiled at him. "Do you not remember what I said earlier?"

There was a series of three sharp knocks on the door to the study. "Young Master? Is everything alright?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sebastian. We're fine."

Rose was still standing there, smiling at him. Her chest moved up and down as if she was silently laughing.

It looked mocking. It bothered Ciel.

"Who are you?!"

She stopped laughing. "I already answered that. Rose."

"No, _really_. Who _are_ you?!"

"Rose! Wow, My Lord. Please stop asking redundant questions in such a harsh tone, or you'll upset an innocent young girl like myself," she smirked, voice dripping with disgusting sarcasm. It made him sick. He hated her.

"Okay… I'll take a different angle…" He said calmly, tapping his fingers on the desk. "Where do you live, to start?"

"Oh, we're not going to do something else while you ask these boring questions-?"

"Where do you live, Rose?"

She shrugged.

Ciel sighed. "You don't know?"

She blinked.

"Where were you before this ball?!"

"Right outside, standing before that grand doorway!" she replied.

"And before that?"

"..."

"Do you remember?"

"Yes."

Ciel stood up. "I'd be more than happy, believe me, to walk you out that doorway that you think is so grand, if you would rather not answer my questions."

She stood up as well. "Nonononono, I'd love to answer your questions. It's not that I don't want to tell you the answers, but with some of the things you ask… I worry what you'll think of me when you hear the truth."

He gave her a cold, condescending stare as his lips curved up into the same smirk she'd been sporting the entire night. "Nothing phases me, My Lady."

"Well, alright then. Please, Earl, sit your cute little bottom back down and I'll answer everything you want to know!"

He did so. "_Now._ Where do you live?"

"Nowhere specifically."

He rested his head in one of his hands, elbow propped up on the desk. "Your clothes are too nice for a drifter."

"They're men's clothes," she smirked. "Do you honestly think I bought them myself?"

"How am I expected to believe that you conveniently found a man wearing an expensive tuxedo, robbed him of his clothing, and then when you tried them on, they fit you perfectly?"

"Well, you're wrong. That's not exactly how it went down," she replied. "I _will_ admit, I had them custom-tailored. But you're right about one thing - money isn't my strong point. So I used other… incentives."

He stared blankly. "So you offered yourself in exchange?"

"As meaningless as I believe the concept of virginity is, no." Rose crossed one leg over the other, as Ciel had been doing before. "The incentive... " She pulled something out of her white jacket. It was - and Ciel's eyes widened slightly in surprise as this realization hit him - a knife.

A large kitchen knife, about the size of his own forearm, covered from the hand to the tip of the blade in a brownish layer of dried blood.

"I'll be honest. I never took you for a murderer."

A floorboard creaked from the hallway. Sebastian wouldn't have done it by accident, so he must've been waiting for Ciel's command.

She shrugged, dropping it from her hand and letting it clatter onto the surface of the desk. "I could tell you any story at all. But as soon as a person sees something like this, they've already made up their mind about what happened."

"So what? You're not even going to try to defend yourself?" He sat back in his chair. "You're going to let me assume that you threatened someone to make you a suit, then killed them? Do you realize that I can no longer trust you? What was the point of showing that to me in the first place?"

She shrugged again. "You're right, it wasn't needed. After all-"

Finally, the doors were thrown open and Sebastian was standing there, calm and composed. "Young Master. Dinner is being served in the ballroom."

"-You didn't even ask me about it."


	3. Chapter 3

She insisted on sitting next to him. Sebastian gave his master another glance, but the boy shook it off and told Rose it was okay.

Dinner was awkward, though. As all of the guests chattered happily amongst themselves, the earl ate his food in silence, staring down at his plate. He didn't want to look up. Every time he did, she was smiling at him.

"Psst."

"What?" He looked up.

"Would you please dismiss your butler from the room?"

"Why in the everlasting _hell_ would I do that?"

She put on a face of false shock and gasped. "Feisty when you're hungry, I see."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "Why do you want me to dismiss my butler?"

"He's creepy. I can't talk freely in his presence," she shrugged. "I feel like he can hear me when I speak to you… and he doesn't seem very friendly, despite that false courtesy of his."

"Oh, really? Then I'd rather he stay," the earl replied with a slight smirk. "The sound of your voice has been a grand nuisance all night."

"And yet, you allow me to stay."

"My curiosity is far greater to me than my nerves."

"Ooh, interested in me, are you?"

He shrugged. "Don't take it as a compliment. You're officially a threat to society, so as much as I'm irritated by your mere existence," Ciel's look turned a bit condescending as he continued, "I'm obligated as the queen's watchdog to keep an eye on the criminals that hide in the shadows of London."

"Such fancy words for such a small little cutie, but yes, I know that," she replied, turning his condescending look into his normal one of annoyance. "Besides," Rose's voice became hushed, "If I'm a criminal and this is your job under the queen, why haven't you gotten that tall, creepy butler to apprehend me? or worse? You'd be doing the world a favor, plus I'd be of your hands, as irritating as I am."

He shook his head. "You think that is enough? As clear as it is what you've done, that knife is the only proof I have on you. And unless your fingerprints are on it, which they're likely not since you've been wearing gloves, it's useless to me." He grabbed his wineglass and took a sip. "The queen doesn't approve of me killing in cold blood."

Rose looked him right in the eyes. "Don't give me that bullshit, Sweetie. You and I both know that you don't arrest your culprits."

He raised an eyebrow and took another gulp of his drink. Did she know…

"Now. _Please_ dismiss Sebastian."

Ciel blinked. "Fine." He stood up and turned to his butler, who was standing respectfully behind his chair. The demon leaned down so the boy could whisper into his ear. "She wants you gone. Go to your quarters and don't come back until I call you."

"Yes, My Lord." He gave a short bow and began to leave the grand dining room. But he stopped next to Rose. Ciel glared as his butler said something to her in a quiet voice before leaving. She snickered.

"What did he say to you?" The lord asked, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, just to watch my actions or I may be removed from the ball. He smiled a cute smile and told me that he would hate to use force on a guest.

Ciel scoffed. "A _cute_ smile, did you just say?" Nothing Sebastian did was exactly 'Cute'. "I thought he was creepy to you."

She nodded. "I find it adorable when men are afraid. They think I won't notice their weakness if they show me their strength."

"Hm." He frowned.

"Now then, since your butler's gone…" She reached a hand toward Ciel's face to stroke his cheek, and the lord quickly batted it away without comment.

"I'd love for you to show me your bedroom after dinner."

"My bedroom! Hah!" He laughed a hollow, fake laugh. "That is not going to happen, My Lady."

She shook her head as he took a large sip of his wine. "Nah, you'll show it to me soon enough."

"Stop telling me what I'm going to do. You're incredibly out of line," he grumbled, taking yet another sip.

She giggled. "Aren't I always? I'm sorry, My Lord. I'm just quite confident in myself." She grabbed her glass and drank as well.

"So, my bedroom? Even after all I've explained, you still think you can convince me to engage in this kind of thing?"

She snickered. "Of course not. don't make so many assumptions, My Lord. Just show me to your bedroom. I'd like to see it."

"No. My opinion isn't changing."

She smirked as he drank more wine from his increasingly-empty glass. Mey-Rin walked over and refilled their supply.

Even if we were to go, you have choice over your own actions. And if I was to do something that you didn't like, well… you always have Sebastian."

"Ah, yes. The butler you told me to dismiss a moment ago. Coincidence, perhaps?" He rolled his eyes. "Doubtful."

Perhaps I thought he'd be jealous of my question."

Ciel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Are you kidding? Why in hell would you think that a lowly servant of mine would give a damn about something like that?"

"Well, why would _you_ give a damn about a _servant_ is one question, but isn't it normal, even preferred, for a servant to care for his master?"

The boy scoffed. "Not this one. Not in this case."

"Come on. You can't possibly be _that_ oblivious."

"What are you talking about?" His right hand put down the glass and began to subconsciously mess with the string of his eyepatch.

"His eyes. They watch you like a crow guarding a broach. It's odd, at first. But then, one might think it to be nothing more than awareness f his master. But, of course, _I _see more than that."

"What does the way he looks at me have to do with-"

"I knew he'd be jealous of my question," she said again. "He already sees me as a threat, and that was made obvious by his little comment on the way out of the dining room."

Ciel finished his wine and slammed his glass down onto the surface of the table so hard that it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. His hand was quickly littered with small, crimson slashes. "Threat?! What are you implying, goddammit?! That's the most ridiculous theory I've ever heard!" His face was a bright red color of embarrassment.

No, anger.

"Oops, I said it out loud. What will the queen's special watchdog do now?" She leaned in toward his face, not seeming to care in the slightest about the cuts on his hand. So close.

Too close.

If the earl wasn't starting to feel a bit tipsy, he would have pushed her away as usual. But he decided not to. He would watch and see what she did, or what she said.

Rose didn't do anything, though. She just snickered and sat back. "What's this? Not pushing me away anymore? Go back to what you were just a second ago. Saying stubborn things and getting frustrated with everything I do. It's so cute." She crossed her arms, face straight as a board.

He blinked and sat in silence for a moment.

Ciel was done. He was so _fucking _done. This girl made a mockery of him the entire night, argued until he'd drinken his entire glass, confused him, manipulated him, and taken shots at his pride.

"Fine. You want to see my room? Do you want to see my goddamn room?" He stood up and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her up as well. "Let's go."

She clasped her hands together. "I knew you'd change your mind!"

"Yes, well, _don't_ misunderstand. I don't want to have sex with you."  
Rose giggled. "Whatever."

"No," he growled. "Never with a piece of street scum like you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ah, there you are. Ciel is back." Rose looked cocky, as usual. It seemed as though she believed she'd be able to convince the earl to change his mind.

But Ciel had entirely different intentions for when they reached their destination.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I'd love to see what you guys think of the story so far. Don't be afraid to leave a comment, but it's no pressure to do so if you don't have anything to say.  
_

_WARNING: LIGHT SMUT AHEAD_

* * *

He shut the door with a loud slam. Ciel watched Rose put her hands out in front of her and poise herself as if she was about to dance. He turned to light a candle and set it on a table near the door. When he turned around to set another on the bedside table, he found that she was now stepping around the room. 'One two three, one two three, one two three...' She mouthed with a slight smile. "You're not much of a dancer," she said aloud. "Would you like a lesson?"

"No," the earl replied simply, setting the candle down.

"Won't you, though? Your joints may feel looser after drinking so much… just like your mind."

"I still do not want to dance, he shook his head.

"Fine."

The earl turned toward the bed to sit down, but found himself suddenly pulled back to the open space of the room.

"Come on. Dance." She grabbed his hands in an iron-tight grip and continued to move accordingly.

"I said no!" He struggled to escape, but she was older and her stronger hands wouldn't budge.

"Come now. Let yourself have some fun for once. This is the last dance I'll ask for, and your last chance to stop pretending you're an adult for once."

"There's not even any music," he grumbled.

Rose began to hum the song that they'd been dancing to earlier. The one that he'd admitted was his favorite. She wasn't particularly good at humming, but it did sound similar.

And he was still very tipsy.

Drunk.

His judgement was waning.

Her voice was comforting, and he could hear her smiling as he untensed a bit, glaring down at their shoes. Then, her humming stopped and she gingerly kissed the top of his head. This didn't even seem like the same person anymore.

"You've stopped humming." The boy was still glaring downward.

"Oops."

Ciel didn't mention the kiss, though.

There was a rush of wind and a shove to his shoulders and before he knew it, the earl could feel his back make contact with the plush mattress of the bed. His dark blue clothes stood out against the white sheets and she pinned his shoulders down, legs straddling him.

"Are you going to push me away?"

He shook his head.

"...Hm." Rose snickered. "I've changed my mind. I like it when the beast is tame."

He didn't look at her face, just stared off to the side at the door to his room. "Don't make such an analogy. I don't submit myself to others."

"Oh, really?" She pushed his bangs back with one hand, observing his face. "Then you're _willing_ to do this?"

Ciel didn't answer. He wasn't quite sure of that himself.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Ciel desperately tried to remember what his plan was. There had been something he needed to do - the reason he'd agreed to bring her into this solitary space. Maybe to call Sebastian and scare her, or maybe he just wanted to give Rose that all-too-needed slap to the face.

But his mind wasn't working anymore.

She kissed his neck, and he took in a small, sharp breath, not having expected it. He thought he'd never get himself into something like this, so how had he managed to do it tonight? It was confusing, but his lips never formed the word 'stop'. Only those little gasps that seemed to fuel the actions of the one above him.

He felt the girl's hands glide over to the front of his jacket, undoing each button slowly. If he _was _to think, he knew he'd hate himself, so he found himself purposely allowing his mind to go blank.

She kissed his lips. One button gone. The kiss continued. He didn't kiss back but didn't push her off either. Two buttons.

"Ah, you don't have to resist, but please don't just lie like that," she sighed. "Limp. Helpless. Like a little boy. Of course, that _is _what you are.

"That's _not _what I am." He struggled against her grip and she let him rise, pushing her down onto the bed underneath him. A complete turn of the tables.

"_Oh_," she sneered. "Now _this _is fun."

"Good." He let her undo the last of the buttons on his jacket and slide her hands up his pale chest. It felt nice... Nice enough for him to let out another soft, involuntary sigh that almost bordered a moan. He found the fingers of his right hand gingerly sifting through Rose's blonde hair. It was the color of honey, with portions and streaks standing lighter and darker among the rest. Her eyes looked like storm clouds. Electrical currents making them look sharp and dangerous. He decided to tempt fate and enter that storm.

Her smile never wavered as he repeated the process of unbuttoning the jacket. Only, Ciel did it hastily. He pulled each button from its place until her jacket fell open. He grabbed one end of the white ribbon that formed a bow at her collar, and it only occurred to him in that moment that they were wearing the _exact_ same tuxedo, right down to the style of the bow and - upon a glance of further inspection - the cufflinks. The only distinguishing feature between the two outfits was that his was a combination of black, white, and blue, and hers was completely white.  
He almost laughed. "This is practically my own outfit."

She _did_ laugh. "I get points for effort, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders, pulling the ribbon and causing her bow to fall apart. A tender kiss to his lips and a smirk resurfacing on her face. He'd stopped drinking, but still felt like his senses were dulling more and more. The moon was starting to look fake in comparison to those surreal eyes below him.

"Alright. This has gone on long enough, Sweetie."

She grabbed his shoulders and rolled them over so that she was on top again, "Let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

He figured she was about to unbutton his collared shirt, the last thing in between her and his bare skin, but that's not exactly how it happened. She grabbed both sides of his shirt and simply pulled apart, until there was a loud series of pops and buttons fell onto the bed. Some clattered to the floor.

"Why did you do that?!" He narrowed his eyes.

"Why not?" She counter-narrowed her eyes, mischief on her face and anger on his.

But the lord's expression melted away after a moment. "Don't think I'll be going easy on such a delinquent like you."

"Ah, look who thinks he's in a position of power," the girl snickered, a finger running over his lips as he pursed them together. "Sorry, Baby. But this one's all me." She pulled his shirt off of his arms and kissed his neck.

"You… must stop being such a tease…" Ciel sighed. She was only touching his neck but this was such a foreign sensation to the boy that piling this on top of the current scene was making him light-headed.

"What if I said no?" Her hand snaked down his chest and he shivered once she reached his pelvis. Pretty soon his belt was already thrown aside, and his pants were down around his knees. "H-hey-" he stuttered, cheeks flushing red.

"Shh…" She shushed him as her palm began to move in circles over his crotch. "Remember who's in power here."

He bit his lip. Oh God, this was getting interesting.

"Sweetie, tell me something."

"...W-what…?" He stuttered.

"Open your eyes before I ask you."

It only occurred to him as she said it that he'd been squeezing his eyes shut. He found himself hesitant to open them, not wanting to have to look into those eyes that made him feel so mocked, so scrutinized by such a serious gray on such a cocky face.

"Open them."

"I do not want to."

She pressed her hand down harder. "Do it, Sweetie."

He couldn't help it and moaned slightly as his eyes flew open. "What is it? G-get on wit it already…"

"Do you _really_ not like me?" She asked, leaning on one hand beside his head to get closer.

Ciel wasn't honestly sure what to say. "I wish you wouldn't ask complicated questions when I'm trying to refrain from th-thinking."

She snickered. "My bad. If you were to think about your feelings toward me- then you would have to question why you're here right now, letting me dominate you. Allowing such hands, as murderous as you believe them to be, touch you-"

"Shut up," he interrupted. "Shut up or I will leave."

"Leave? Please." She took her hand away from his groin. "Would you run out into the hallway and fall for Sebastian, even without a shirt and - well…"

He blushed an even darker shade of red as she began to laugh, as usual.

"I wouldn't have to leave this room."

"What are you talking about?" Rose cocked her head to the side, still giggling slightly.

Oh, hell, What was he doing? He couldn't trust her with this information. A hand drifted over his eyepatch subconsciously. "Never mind. It's a lie, anyway."

She snickered. "Darling, a lie wouldn't concern you so much."

"Then let's call it unimportant! Now please, kindly shut up and touch me again."

The blonde was taken aback. "...Deal."

-XXX-

He figured he was going crazy. Her lips across his skin and her fingers doing such un-ladylike things. _So many_ un-ladylike things.

No, but this wasn't a lady.

This was simply a thing that would never happen again and he'd never speak of again and if Sebastian ever brought it up he'd say he didn't re-

"Aah!"

Their clothes were scattered across the floor, the bed, anywhere but their bodies. She was still on top of him, that honey-colored hair falling into her face and completely covering one eye as Ciel laid underneath her, eyes squeezed shut again. The only garment that he was still wearing was his eyepatch.

He opened his one good eye just a bit, blinking through the sweat that blurred his vision. Oh God, oh god, oh god. This was… this was something so good and he wanted it to keep happening but he was also unbearably embarrassed. "...Ah…" He moaned yet another strangled, accidental moan. It was the only sound in the room, save for the movement of their bodies.

She ran her hands through his hair, closing her fists and making him wince a bit. The pleasure was too much to be able to think, or speak for that matter, so he just beared it.

Eventually, Rose fell onto the bed beside him. There were no words.

AS the adrenaline rush and the insane pleasure were quickly replaced with common sense, his decisions began to feel like they weighed a few tons on each shoulder.

They both continued to quietly pant.

"My lord."

Anger. Extreme anger for interrupting him in such a sudden panic.

He turned toward her, face blank. "...?"

She smiled and pulled his body closer, wrapping her arms around him. "I've succeeded in everything that I came here for. Thank you."

It was a sincere offering of thanks. He decided to brush it off and feed it to his rage. But at the moment, he was exhausted. Ciel was too tired to say angry things, wear angry faces. And he was almost too tired...

...To leave Rose's arms…

"YOUNG MASTER."


	5. Chapter 5

He didn't dare to open his eyes.

No.

"You Master," his butler repeated.

No.

He could tell that there was a light above him. He slowly opened his eyes to see a pair of long legs, clothed in black. A candelabra was definitely in his hands, and almost certainly a…

Well what _was_ the look on his butler's face? He slowly looked up.

Sebastian's face was completely and entirely blank. It gave Ciel a sinking feeling.

"You have a girl behind you." Ciel rolled over in bed and jumped slightly when he saw her. And inch from his face, she was fully dressed again, smirking. Ciel was most certainly _not_ fully dressed.

"...That's right. I do."

Suddenly, Sebastian snuffed out the candelabra with his own left hand and pulled the blinds. Ciel felt a piercing throb in his head as the light flooded into his eyes.

"Why." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"..." The earl was still staring at his houseguest. She stared back.

"'Why'?" Rose looked up at Sebastian as if she was surprised by his question. "Because he let me show him how to be young and reckless, that's why! And it paid off, didn't it, Ciel?"

The boy's eyes widened. No. He couldn't deal with this. It wasn't even the shame and regret that made him wrap a blanket around himself and sprint from the room. It was that shockingly disappointed look on Sebastian's face.

And he couldn't bear it.

-XXX-

The boy locked the door to his study and slid under the desk, knees pulled up to his chest and blanket draped over his head. He never wanted to go back out there ever again. Of all the people in the world, it was the judgement of the most apathetic that he'd always been afraid of. And now, today, the butler had finally given him a critical look.

_...What about Rose…?_

The words flashed by in his mind. Leaving her with Sebastian… the butler was practically handed a free pass to kill her. He jumped out from under the desk. But… at the same time...

"Ugh… I don't even care about her," he sighed.

But he knew deep down that if he didn't care, he wouldn't have just thought about her, he wouldn't have allowed her to stay at the ball, and he _certainly_ wouldn't have…

Well, he wouldn't have slept with her.

"Goddammit!" He pulled his blanket-protection tighter around himself and sprinted back to his room.

When the earl returned, Sebastian was alone in the room.

"...Sebastian…" The blanket dropped to the lord's feet.

"Yes, Young Master?"

"Where is Rose."

"Hm."

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me. Where. Is. Rose."

"Oh, the girl. I saw her out, My Lord."

"And where _exactly_ did she go?"

His butler smirked.

"WHERE IS SHE, SEBASTIAN?"

"She's left, Young Master."

"What did you do to her, _Demon_?!" Ciel slammed his little fist against the wall. "I command you. Bring me to Rose!"

Sebastian's smirk left his face. "...Yes," he bowed, "My Lord." The demon stood up and began to walk down the hallway as Ciel picked his blanket back up and followed close behind. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have me dress you first? A lord should not be seen in such indecency." The butler didn't stop walking as he spoke.

"No. I'll get dressed later. Hurry up. Did you show her out or did you do something that you _know _I wouldn't like?" The boy's eyes narrowed.

The butler slowly shrugged his shoulders. "That depends."

The boy huffed in anger. "...Such a useless demon."

Sebastian glanced backward, but kept moving. "I'm merely a butler."

"Are we-" his butler pushed a door open.

There she was. Or at least, there was part of her.

A pool of blood.

A pool of blood, seeping out from under the washroom door. No sound.

He looked up at his butler in horror. "What?! What have you done?!"

"Please do not act like I haven't done worse, Young Master."

"This was different."

"How so?"

That tone. The butler's phrase held a touch of malice, and it surprised Ciel, but didn't have much effect on his anger. If anything, it fueled him. _His_ butler, getting angry at _him_? That didn't seem like much of a servant at all.

"Because THIS ONE WAS DIFFERENT!"

"..." Sebastian just watched him for a moment before opening the washroom door.

She was lying in the bathtub.

Well, sort of.

Her body was draped over the side like a Raggedy Anne doll. Her hair hung in her face, tangled into knots, sticking to her skin from the blood. Ciel didn't know what to do, so instead of saying anything he just ran his hands through his hair.

"...Is she alive, Sebastian…?"

The butler gave him a slight now. "Of course. Only the finest hospitality for a houseguest of the-"

"Shut up." He approached the girl and pulled her out onto the floor. "Can she be saved?"

"If you desire it, yes. But I-"

"What do you think the queen will think?! If she doesn't live?!"

The butler shrugged. "I was under the impression that we thought her a deranged murderer, Sir."

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit." The boy gave his butler an angry shove. Or at least, an attempt. The demon didn't move an inch. "I was… You knew the situation! Why did you do this?! Why-"

"-Do you reme-ember…?" Rose mumbled from the floor.

"What?"

"...What I told you…?"

"About what?!"

"...About Sebas-tia-n…"

Ciel's eyes widened.

Sebastian gave the girl an irritated glare.


	6. Chapter 6

Ciel chose not to deal with that right now. If possible, he didn't _ever_ want to deal with it.

Instead, he just bent down and pushed way what hair was still in the girl's face. "Rose. What happened."

She drew in a breath that shook with the pain. "Well," she smiled a bit. That cocky smile. Ciel began to theorize that her smiles weren't real smiles at all. "Allow me to start… by saying that I'm very impressed… with your butler."

Ciel rolled his eyes.

She chuckled. "There it is. The s-stubbornness. I can't help but-" She was cut off and gagged, blood spilling out of her mouth.

The earl's stubborn eyes grew wide. "Are you going to die?"

"Nope." She sat herself up slowly, and that's when he noticed the slash marks across the front of the tux that she was so proud of. "I ca-can't die, because that would s-spoil your chance to be a child. Children-" She stopped to catch her breath before continuing, "-children deserve to be happy."

"Rose," he sighed. "You can't make me happy by showing me a night of dancing and… other things. Even _if _I _did_ have fun…"

Her smirk widened.

"It's not going to change a single thing about me."

She shook her head slightly. "Do you know why I beg to differ?" There was a pool of blood forming underneath her.

"Why?"

"Because…" Her voice cracked. "Because you're concerned about me, right now. You're standing over me in a pool of my blood, wiping the hair out of my face. You yelled at your butler for my sake. You took me to _bed_. You _do_ care, and this little shot in the dark that I've been planning for years…"

"Rose?"

Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to keep herself awake. "...was successful."

-XXX-

He watched her open her eyes once again, just as he was buttoning her shirt.

"..." She smiled at him.

"Mey-Rin - one of my servants, bandaged your wounds. I told her it was a fall from a window. What a klutz, you are." He held back a chuckle on that last sentence.

"These aren't my clothes."

"No. They're not. I'm allowing you to borrow mine for the time being."

She looked down at the white collared shirt and the forest-green shorts. A scoff. "My. this isn't flattering on me at all, is it?" Rose chuckled.

Ciel shrugged, stepping back. "Hm. Certainly not, now that you mention it."

A smirk, as usual. "Feel free to re-dress me as many times as you'd like."

"No." He shook his head. "I have no wish to do so."

She frowned. "Oh yes?"

"Yes."

The girl propped herself up a bit from where she was leaning against the headboard of a guest bed. "Why not, love?"

"Because." His answer was quick, sharp. Almost a little angry. "I do not _believe_ in such a thing as love. It is fake and unrealistic. It bends reality and makes an individual useless. It's a shame to see that you, of all people, have fallen into an abyss such as love."

She shook her head.

"What?"

"...I suppose you're right. It's dulled me. I didn't believe in it either, but until I finally had in right where I wanted you, I didn't realize that I'd simply been in love with you this whole time."

He shook his head as well. "I'm so very disappointed that you've proven just as human as everyone else."

He could almost feel her smirk disappearing as he turned to leave.

"I was blind enough not to put the final pieces together until now."

He froze, one hand against the door, wondering what she meant.

"You can't love me."

"Of course not-"

"Because you love someone else."

He turned. "You're still wrong. I don't love my fiance either-"

She put a hand up. "It's not her either."

Just then, a shadow was cast across the wall of the hallway and they both turned to watch Sebastian enter. "Young Master-"

"It's _him_."

Ciel's eyes grew wide. His cheeks flushed a **dark** shade of red at her accusation. He whipped his head around to clare and yell at the girl, to see that she was pointing a shaky finger at Sebastian.

"_That_. Is fucking _absurd_."

The butler began to smirk a sly smirk. "Young Master."

"No. NO. Don't-"

The butler reached out a hand. "You need to-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

And once again, the boy took off at a sprint. He sprinted far down the windowless, candle-lit corridors of the mansion.

Farther.

Farther.

Go.

"I need to go."

With a loud bang, he slammed his little body into the grand front doors, throwing them open.

And as the blinding sunlight hit his face, he pushed a single thought back under lock and key. IT was never allowed to see this light. He was never allowed to think it, and it was never allowed to be a reality, no matter how much it nagged him. He'd keep it far, far away.

Ciel cupped his hands and dunked them into a fountain. A huge splash erupted from the clear water as he extended his fingers out, so that water droplets could rain down on him. His face, his hair, his neck, his ears… so that the entire past two days could wash away-

"Oh, why hello there, Little Earl! Is Sebas-chan doing well?"

His neck was still craned toward the sky as he opened his eyes and looked toward the noise.

It was the ginger riff-raff.

Wait.

He flicked his wrists to shake the water off his hands and glared as his stomach dropped with unease.

"Why are you here."

"Oh, nothing too big. You and Sebas-chan can relax!" The reaper smirked. She opened a thick, leather book and stopped on a page near the middle. She read the current date, followed by, "Rosaline Williams dies alone in the Phantomhive guest bedroom after being fatally wounded by the demon Sebastian Michaelis." She shut the book with a slam, causing Ciel to flinch.

"What's wrong? Did you care about her?" Grell asked, still grinning as he lord turned on his heel and sprinted back into the manor.

"Well, relax," the redhead called, "you still have until two forty-seven. That's twenty-three minutes from now."

Ciel ran faster. No time to thank the Shinigami.

When he got inside, Sebastian was waiting for him at the landing that spit the foyer's stairway into two branches: one going left, and the other going right.

"Young Master. Your houseguest does not look well. There may not-"

"I know." Ciel walked up to his butler, stopping right in front of the tall man. "Grell is waiting outside."

The butler looked up to the grand chandelier. "...I am sorry. I have caused you this pain."

"I don't know how it happened. All that matters now is that she's going to die. And…" He stared up at the stairs that led to the hallway, that led to her. "..."

"Hm?"

"I cannot bring myself to walk back into her room." He paused, before continued quietly. "...This time, it's not her eyes, nor her height, nor her grip on my hands, nor her cocky smiles… but…"

"You are scared anyway."

The earl swallowed his spit and his cobalt eyes darted down to his feet.

The butler bowed onto one knee. Slowly, he extended a hand upward for Ciel to take, raven-colored hair falling down into his face as he looked down as well.

"If you choose to take my hand, I will help you to overcome the fear, so that she can smirk at you one more time."

The earl choked up. He looked at a clock. Nineteen minutes left.

And slowly.

Hesitantly.

Gingerly.

He took the butler's hand.


	7. Chapter 7

She smiled at him when he re-entered the room, but her face was slick with sweat and her skin was paler than it should have been. He only truly realized it until now - but those eyes looked tired. And it sunk his heart a few feet into the ground.

"I really do hope you end up believing in the truth."

The earl didn't say anything. He just squeezed the butler's strong hand a bit harder.

Her smile was tired as well. She looked up at the ceiling as her eyes sparkled with moisture. "I do think I'm going to die."

Ciel nodded slightly. "Yes. You have seventeen minutes."

"Really?" She chuckled a bit. "...And how do you know such an exact-"

"There's a Shinigami waiting for you outside."

She raised an eyebrow, looking back down at him. "And you-"

"You need to know something, Rose." Now that she was dying, he figured he might as well tell her now.

"Hm?" She waited.

"Sebastian is a demon."

She laughed a fake, forced, horribly strangled laugh. "Explain no further. That became quite obvious when your butler's eyes began to glow an iridescent purple color at me. And then, of course," she scoffed, looking down at herself. "Well, the fact that he mauled me like an inhuman creature."

"...I sincerely apologize. As it turns out, that is not what my master wanted," Sebastian apologized, kneeling onto one knee.

She shook her head. "No. If Ciel was mine, I would've done the same."

"But _I _am not _his_," the earl argued, allowing for Sebastian to rise as he sat down on the side of her bed, holding his butler's hand the whole time.

She simply shook her head again. "I can't help but wonder how you expect me to believe such a thing while you're holding so desperately onto his hand."

A twinge of guilt stabbed the earl straight through his chest. He actually pitied her a bit, watching as something that she wanted so bad... just wasn't hers. "Rose-"

"And I'm not hurt. So it's quite fine. Now explain to me..." She took a deep breath. He figured it was because she was upset, but as she exhaled shakily, he realized it was just to control the pain. "The Shinigami... Outside... Did I hear you correctly?"

He nodded. "Yes... We've crossed paths with him before. Listen. He's here for _you._ He says you're going to.." The earl went silent.

She was still for a moment, before beginning to nod slightly. "So that's how you know when. What time, exactly?"

"2:47."

She squinted to see through her blurry vision at the analog clock above the doorway. "So... Fourteen minutes now."

He nodded. The earl tried _so_ hard, but this shaking him up a little. It bothered him. He hated the girl. He wasn't even romantically attracted to her in the slightest. But she did _care_ about him, and it made him wish she would stay, whether or not he would consciously admit it. "Damn you, Rose..." He looked down at tried _so_ hard to hold back the moisture in his eyes. "I don't even know you. And you're a stalker- and a delinquent- and a murderer-"

She smiled.

The butler let go of his master's hand.

"Then do something for a spur-of-the-moment friend-acquaintance like me. If you truly care."

He took a breath, glancing back at Sebastian. The boy was not happy that his hand was alone now. "...Alright. What would you like."

She patted the space on the mattress to her right. "Please lay with me so that I can be closer to you."

Another glance in Sebastian's direction.

"I'm going to prepare your afternoon tea while you say your goodbyes, Young Master." The butler gave him a wave and began to leave

"Sebastian, hold-" but the butler was already gone.

"Ciel."

He turned around slowly, only to be disappointed as he remembered that those eyes weren't quite as sharp as they used to be.

"Will you lay with me,"

He nodded. The boy sat down on the bed next to her.

"No, no," Rose chuckled. "Not like that." She leaned forward and repositioned the pillow so that as she laid down, it was under her head. But she left some space on the pillow for his head.

The lord sighed and appeased her, lying down shoulder-to-shoulder so that they shared the pillow.

"I'm debating." She broke a short-fallen silence.

"Debating what?"

"Whether or not I'm happy that you told me I have a little over ten minutes to live. I can feel it. I can feel, even as I speak, the strength and senses and the emotion and the fear, leaving my head. And it won't stop reminding me that I don't have more than two days to have known you."

He turned to look at her. He wasn't attracted to the girl, no. But, again, he _did_ care about her. "I don't think you can feel yourself dying. It's the adrenaline. As fearless as it feels right now..."

He wanted the ones he cared about not to feel scared. Staring up at the ceiling, Ciel's left hand twitched. Should he?

"You're going to tell me that I'm nervous, whether or not I realize it." She looked down at his fingers. "I'll be honest. It's not fun being the person told about their own mind. But I do appreciate what you're trying to do."

He grabbed her hand. The clock read eight minutes.

No. Not enough time.

"I wish I had enough time to lay here and let time slip by. But if I do that," she chuckled again. "If I do that, I'll die without even realizing it. But perhaps that would be the best way for it to be."

She looked over at Ciel's face. "At least I got what I wanted." And then, as always, that smile became a smirk.

"Sit up for a moment." Ciel sat up and pulled her into a sitting position as well.

"Yes?" She asked, looking a bit dizzy. He could see now that the blood was still flowing. Now, it was bleeding right through the shirt that she'd borrowed from him.

_SLAP!_

She held her right cheek, smirk still there. There was a faint handprint peeking out from under her fingers. "You're a little bit crazy, aren't you?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Says the boy who just slapped a dying lady in the face. What was that for, My Lord?"

"For all of it." He pushed her back down onto the bed and before he even realized it, he'd rested his head on her chest, above where her shirt was being dyed red.

Rose sighed another shaky sigh and wrapped her arms around him. Her grip wasn't strong and right anymore.

"That's okay."

There was a silence and he moved slightly, about to look up to make sure she hadn't died.

"Shh... Don't move, Ciel. _Please_ don't move."

And there is was. His stomach dropped upon recognition of that _**disgusting**_ substance drilling from her voice. He couldn't bear to look at her now.

Desperation.

Something popped into the earl's mind. "Grell said you would die alone."

"Oh, did he?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps you should never leave my side."

"...Unless, I've already left it."

A scoff from her. He regretted implying that he was on it in the first place. "I am not alone."

"And if I answered with the same thing, you'd tell me that I might as well tell you the truth." He began to lift his head again.

"No." She sucked in a breath. "I said don't move."

"Rose, I can hardly see the clock from here."

"You do not want to know what the clock says anyway."

"And you do not want me to look at you." He got up, her weakened hands unable to hold his body down, although he could tell that she tried.

The girl immediately covered her face with her hands, but it was too late to stop a teardrop as it fell onto the pillow.

The lord was just so disappointed. This girl was nothing like him. How could he ever be friends with someone who seems as tough himself on the outside, but was just so _average_ on the inside? He pursed his lips together, looking down at her blankly. "Are you afraid?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Then what is it?"

"I simply wanted to be the same, Ciel." She pulled her hands away from her bloodshot eyes. She was still smiling, but she was also still _crying._

He leaned forward and brushed back a bit of her hair. "We don't have to be."

"Have I managed it?"

"Hm?"

"...Have I changed you?"

He closed his eyes and took a long moment to think about it.

And when he reopened them to respond, he looked down into her storm-sky eyes. His breath caught.

Ciel held in the air until his lungs burned. Her fingers laid limp beside her head. Her smirk was gone. The lightning in her half-open storm-sky eyes had lost charge.

He fell onto his side and laid still.

Rose was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

The only reason Ciel opened his eyes was to see what the hell was going on.

He was several feet off the ground. Oh. The _demon_ was holding him. And the _demon_ was all he had left. So he grabbed a fistful of Sebastian's tailcoat and hid his face to block out every speck of light that he could manage. He wasn't necessarily grieving for the girl, but he was shaken and… a little bit confused.

"Young Master, I don't expect you to forgive me a lowly servant for causing you so much pain."

Oh cut the crap, Sebastian, he thought to himself.

"How long have I been laying there," he asked in monotone.

"Just about three hours."

"..." The earl stayed silent.

-XXX-

The room was _so_ silent. Ciel didn't touch his tea and refused to eat his scone.

"Please eat your food, My Lord." The butler picked up the teacup. His voice was hushed. "Your tea has grown cold. I'll brew you another-"

"No."

The butler stopped on his way out.

"Come back. I have a question."

The demon walked back into the room and stood beside his master's living chair near the window. It was part of a set, complete with a matching chair across the way and a coffee table nestled comfortably below the window.

"Won't you sit down and stop being a demon for two minutes?"

The man nodded, not sure where that sass had just come from. "Yes, My Lord." He sat down in the chair and set his hands in his lap.

"Sebastian. Is that what Grell meant by Rose dying alone?"

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I was there for this event. Would you mind explaining it to me?"

The earl nodded. "Grell read me her death from his schedule. It said she would die alone, but I was there. Is this what he meant?"

"Is _what_ what she meant, Sir?"

"She began to _cry_. Right before she died."

The butler raised an eyebrow.

"And I was disappointed. She wasn't like me at all. She always looked at me like this nonjudgmental, unbiased, condescending force that just… understood things. And she cried because no matter how hard she tried to be, we weren't the same, and she didn't _truly_ understand. She _never_ did. She loved me, but hid it with fake sneers and faked her strength and faked her entire personality to deceive me. And she asked me if she'd succeeded in 'changing me'. Her whole motive, through all of this bullshit, was to make me happy - and she didn't understand… because if she did, she would have already known that I cannot be changed."

Sebastian waited for him to continue.

"I closed my eyes to consider my answer. But when I opened my eyes to lie and say yes…" Ciel put his face in his hands.

"She had died, Sebastian."

"My Lord."

"Hm?"

"You talk of how disappointed you are in someone else for crying, as you yourself are on the edge of tears."

"..." Ciel sucked in a shaky breath, but the room quickly went to silence.

"My Lord?"

Nothing.

"My lord?"

Still nothing.

"Young-"

"Goddammit Sebastian, just do it already!" The boy stood up and hugged his butler.

There were no words.

Ciel just sunk his body into the older one. It was simply becoming too hard to hold his weight anymore. "...Sebastian..."

The demon slowly seemed to decide what to do. He sifted a set of fingers through the boy's hair. "I'm so sorry, My Lord. Is something less obvious on your mind?" He looked down at the lord. "Something we haven't discussed yet?"

"...Not exactly." The boy walked over to a window and crossed his arms, staring out at the courtyard. "Well, one thing."

Sebastian followed him. It has to have been sinking into evening time, because these. Was getting lower in the sky. "I'll need to prepare dinner soon, so please do tell me what it is."

"Why did you hurt her. Why did you want her to die." His voice was so soft that a human would likely have asked him to speak up. But the demon heard him loud and clear.

"..."

"Tell me!" He turned around. "I just want to know! Why did you do it?!"

"Would do you care so much, Sir." That monotone expression of disappointment returned and Ciel's stomach dropped. "Why did you let her stay and sit with her at dinner. Why did you _sleep with her_."

"That was a mistake." The boy turned around sharply. "I was drunk and there was so much adrenaline... And I regret it now because looking back and thinking of all the things that happened... It was all fine, but I wasn't really... attracted to her. It was just..." He shook his head. "Your turn to answer. Why did you kill her."

"...I suppose I made a mistake as well, Young Master." The man folded his hands and looking down at his shoes solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Ciel narrowed his eyes.

"I killed her because I was under the impression that you were attracted to her, Sir."

The earl's glare softened in confusion. "...Why did it make a difference...?"

"Because," Sebastian stopped himself l. "...I should really prepare your dinner, My Lord."

"No. You should really finish your sentence," Ciel seethed, becoming angry.

"If I was to finish my sentence," Sebastian turned toward the doorway to leave, "you would be most unhappy with the answer."

"_**Why?!**_" Ciel stomped his foot, furious now. "**You must tell me anyway!**"

"Young Master, you already know the answer at this point. It is a gruesome one, but a true one."

The boy looked down at the ground, then back up. By then, Sebastian was already gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Ciel didn't give his butler any time to come back. He bolted down the hallway toward the back exit and pushed it open. He didn't want to be in that manor right now.

He couldn't take it.

The sky was dark. The sun that was threatening to set was now covered by a fast-moving, dense layer of storm-cloud eyes.

I mean, storm clouds.

There was a roll of thunder and he jumped slightly, but kept walking further out into the courtyard until he was standing on the grass.

_Young Master, you already knew the answer at this point._

But he absolutely fucking refused that wretched answer.

_It is a gruesome one, but a true one._

A flash of lighting it up the sky, thunder hitting in unison to it. A droplet hit his face, but nothing more. Wind blew his jacket and fought against his hair. The clouds were soliciting their threat.

_Go back. Go back inside. _

"No," he mumbled, as if they would actually hear him. He never wanted to go back in that manor again. He could never walk into the ballroom, or enter that upstairs hallway, or sit in that sitting room, or face that butler... Ever again.

God, it made him cringe just thinking about all the things he'd just done. How little respect Sebastian would have for him now, after displaying such unforgivable weakness...

But the truth was, he'd just showed it because he truly felt so _weak. _And _powerless_. And all he ever wanted to do again was go and crawl into a hole.

_**BOOM!**_

Another strike of thunder and lightning. More droplets of water were beginning to fall now. If he stayed out for a minute longer, it would start to pour and he'd surely be soaked.

So be it, then.

"Young Master, dinner is ready. Please come inside."

The boy didn't turn around. Fear struck him right in the chest like a bullet, having thought he had more time alone. He prayed that raindrops were masking his tears. He prayed that it was raining hard enough. But it wasn't.

And then, as if he'd summoned it himself, the downpour began. A huge sheet of rain fell from the sky, bringing a constant waterfall in its wake. It hit the grass, the dirt, and the pavement all so hard and so quickly that the thick drops banged a constant rhythm out of the ground. A very loud song that drowned out every sound that wasn't in a five-foot radius.

"Young Master, I'm concerned about you. What is the matter?"

"Concerned about me...?" The boy was shocked to hear Sebastian say something like that aloud.

"Yes, and you should come inside so that you do not get sick. I'll run you a bath and save your dinner for later, if you'd prefer that."

The earl shook his head. He could sense the butler taking a step closer as the cold, early-autumn rain soaked him down to his bones. His jaw locked up from the cold and he couldn't seem to stop himself from trembling slightly.

"Are you truly grieving this much?"

"No. I'm not sad. I'm just..."

Confused. He was so confused.

Ciel didn't want to turn around and face his butler for a variety of reasons, but the largest one, whether or not he refused it, was that if he turned around, something deep in the back of his mind would click and see someone _attractive_. Someone who appealed to him, who he cared about, and who he wanted for his own. Something that just... Wasn't there for him in anyone else. He hadn't even felt it for Rose.

And this was not okay.

"My lord, you're eventually going to have to turn and face me."

Ciel nodded his head slightly. "I know. Give me a momen-" he choked on the word.

The butler, now directly behind him, had wrapped his arms around the boy's torso and pulled him close.

"As you were saying, Sir?"

The earl looked up. His butler wasn't smirking, or anything of the like. His expression was serious, his hair dripping with water as it hung down in front of his face. "...Get off of me, Sebastian."

"Is that an order, Sir?"

Well, did he _really_ want the butler to stop?

"...No." Ciel shook his head. His hands reached up and grabbed Sebastian's arms. This was another one of those times where it served him better not to think.

-XXX-

The butler dried Ciel's hair in silence, a towel covering the top of the boy's head as he used it to soak up the water.

"My Lord, I do think we should talk about the current situation so that this causes you less of a headache." He pulled the towel away and hung it up on a hook to dry before walking into Ciel's bedroom for a change of the earl's clothes.

"Alright. Fine. This _is_ a headache, so let's do this." The boy turned to look at his reflection in a full-sized mirror. "How about we forget everything. We met no one new at the ball. We are Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis and you are my servant and I am an English lord who solves crimes for the queen. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else."

Sebastian walked back into the room with Ciel's dress shoes, jacket, bow, and a pair of black socks. "If that's what you truly desire... But, I can't help but suggest that you think less about what you _want _to want, and what you _really_ want."

The earl furrowed his eyebrows. "How can I want to want something other than what I want?"

The butler shrugged, threading a ribbon through Ciel's collar and beginning to tie a neat bow. "I suppose denial can bring many things."

"Cocky demon," the earl grumbled. "...You're not as hard to resist as you think you are-"

If he'd been any more embarrassed as soon as he realized what he'd said, his cheeks would have bursted into flames.

And the worst part was that even _that_ sentence had been a lie.

The demon smirked.

Ciel quickly found a way to change the subject. "Sebastian, this bow is white."

"You're most certainly right, Sir. Would you prefer a blue one?"

"I..." Ciel began to glare. "It's not that I would prefer a blue one, but that I don't _own_ a white bow."

"That is true. I figured that you would want a memento."

"I don't!" He pulled one end of the ribbon until it unraveled and fell onto the ground. "I specifically told you that no one was at that ball other than who was invited! I am Ciel Phantomhive and you are Sebastian Michaelis and you are my servant and I am an English lord who solves crimes for the queen. _**Nothing**_ _more and nothing-_"

By the time his demon interrupted him, Ciel had been yelling at the top of his lungs. "I've been meaning to let you know," Sebastian began, picking the bow up off the floor and beginning to retie it around the boy's neck. Ciel went silent as the servant continued. "I looked into Rose's murder case. Would you like to know the details?"

"..."

Sebastian took that as an invitation to begin the story.


	10. Chapter 10

A young girl walked into a men's tailor. A few people were standing on great cylindrical pedestals as suitmakers and tuxedo masters scurried around them, taking measurements, sticking pins here and sewing buttons there. All of the projects looked like grand masterpieces. This place would do her well, she may have thought.

And so she walked up to the great front desk, and asked a great tall man a very strange question.

"I have ten dollars. Please make me a very beautiful tuxedo."

The man seemed to look at her oddly, than choke a little, and then laugh a bit after that. "If your father or brother needs a tuxedo, please tell them they must come in for the measurements."

"I _am_ the measurements." She held her arms out at her aides. "I want it to be completely white and I know every detail down to the cufflinks so you won't have to put as much effort into it anyway."

The desk man glanced over his shoulder at one of the other men, who looked over at the girl. "What's your name, My Lady?" The second man asked.

"Rose. Is that to put on the order form or something?"

He shook his head and walked forward. "I'm sorry, but tuxedos and suits are for men, Miss. you would look wonderful in a great white ball gown though, and j can direct you to a tailor who will happily make you one."

She reached into her pocket and brought out a ten dollar bill. "No, it's important that my outfit is perfect down to the minute details. Are you sure you don't want this? You strike me as a man who enjoys being paid."

The Second Man didn't know what to say, so the Desk Man decided to step back in. "I'm truly sorry. But we cannot do you this service. Please-"

And then there was a knife in her hand.

I suppose they should have considered why a peasant had so much cash on her, but it was too late to ask questions now.

I don't know where exactly the knife had come from. Perhaps it had always been sitting in her free hand, but invisible. Perhaps it had been tucked into the waistband of her ankle-length brown skirt and they had simply looked away in the moment that she pulled it.

It didn't really matter.

"H-hey, easy now!" This realization of danger hit the store like a shockwave. Starting at her immediate location, the looks of fear spread down the length of the large open-concept store. Everyone froze in place.

"Relax, Sir." She held up the ten dollars again. "I'm simply trying to bargain with you. Would you be interested in making me a tuxedo yet?"

The man nodded slowly at first, then quickly. "...Yes. Yes, whatever you want, Miss."

She smiled. "Ah, that's much, much better."

And so Rose got what she wanted. She got to step up on that grand pedestal and get occasionally pricked with needles for what seemed to be hours. Her enthusiasm never faded a bit as the time bored on.

"Alright, we have your measurements. Please come back in a week for your tuxedo," a man said, stepping back.

"Yay! Thank you all so much." She hopped off, but before leaving, she made a stop at the front desk. Rose rummaged through the drawers, but she couldn't find a single tool of defense. Nothing.

"Do you people really have _no_ means of defense back here?" She called out. "What if you get robbed?"

"You mean like we just did?" A woman from the back called out grumpily.

"No, I just paid you so this isn't a robbery. It was just a motivated use of your professional services." The girl stood up and opened the door. "Bye bye. See you all next week!" With that, she left.

When she came back, the store seemed to be in a bit of a predicament again.

There was a knife, but it wasn't hers this time.

No, the store was being robbed. Real, adult, gun-wielding, free-for-all, robbed. A tall man in a hood stood in front of the the counter, holding a rifle in one hand as the Desk Man shoved stack after stack of bills into a brown bag. All he had earned.

"What are you doing, Sir?" She cocked her head to the side. Her expression didn't show fear. Just confusion. The Desk Man shot her a serious look and the Hood Man didn't turn around. "Miss, you need to turn and walk out the door right now. We are not open today."

She shook her head slowly. For just a split-second, Rose's expression leaked a dash of fear. But not for long.

"Sir. I suggest you leave this place alone."

Desk Man shook his head at her quickly. "Rose, you need to go!"

The thief began to turn.

"Save yourself!" The Second Man yelled. But she didn't move. Just smiled into the thief's face when he finally looked her over.

He was an adult male, maybe twenty-five or thirty. But he had a straight, hollow expression that matched his dead blue eyes. They were bluer than hers but reeked of death.

"Excuse me, Good Sir. But this tailor? Yeah, it isn't yours. It's mine."

He continued to give her a blank face. Another flash of fear on her part as she swallowed her spit. The barrel of the rifle met her white shirt. The perfect color to be splashed with blood.

That is, if she wasn't careful. And sure, Rose was reckless. But she also had strategy.

"Your rifle isn't loaded, Sir."

A scoff. "Don't be fucking ridiculous. I could blow your chest open right now."

"Not to be disrespectful, Sir," She began, grabbing the gun in front of her and lowering the barrel toward the floor, "But I saw that realization just hit you, right in the eyes." Rose tapped her temple with her free hand. "And then in the throat." Her hand dragged down to her jugular, and she swallowed her spit again before continuing her smile-mask. "You forgot to load this puppy. Or perhaps you don't even have any ammo."

He let out this low noise of pure anger. It was so furious that it sounded like a dog growling. Just then, the knife was in her hand again and she was holding it up for everyone to see. "Now then. Fight or flight? You can have the first turn."

She honestly didn't expect him to fight her. Or at least, that's the impression that leaked through her stoic face as he came at her, hands extended toward her throat.

The blonde didn't give the impression that she knew what she was doing, but rather winged it as she ducked out of the way and did the only thing that could possibly come to mind.

The knife made a ripping, blood-splatter noise as it dug into his carotid artery, scratching against the bones in his neck. She felt a gag of horror and disgust threaten her composure, but she held it back. There was a further-sickening gush of blood and flesh that traveled right to her brain and stayed there forever.

He immediately dropped - at least a hundred and forty pounds of dead body toppled to the floor with a slam. His grabbed at her, The Desk Man, anything, sending a cloud of papers off the desk in his wake.

"..." Rose watched with horror, still holding the blade that had slid out of him as he tumbled. Her entire hand up to three inches past her wrist had immediately been soaked with the initial gush of blood, her nice white shirt now littered with dark red droplets.

The Desk Man, the Second Man, The Woman - no one knew whether or not to scream or thank her.

"..." Rose did the only thing that she knew how to do and out her poker face back on. Her signature storm-cloud eyes regained their hollow shine and her lips curved up into a smirk. "...Now then. Have you finished my beautiful tuxedo?" She asked, glancing down at the blade in her hand.

"Have I- oh! Um, yes. O-of course. The tuxedo." The Desk Man turned to the Second Man. "James. The tux."

James hurried away. He came back a moment later with the clothing, wrapped in a navy blue plastic-y covering. Her eyes widened slightly and her smirk grew into a genuine smile of naive excitement as she unzipped the cover. It was exactly what she'd always wanted.

A subtle gasp escaped her lips as she pulled it out halfway by the wire hanger. It was an exact replica of Ciel Phantomhive's tuxedo - but snow white.

"There's a locker in the front of that covering that has the bow and cufflinks," Desk Man explained in a timid voice. "...As well as another for the shoes."

She set the tuxedo gingerly back into the wrapping and set it down on the counter before running around to the other side and hugging the Desk Man with all of her might. "Thank you _so_ much. I never had any real intention to hurt you.

He glanced over her at the corpse that was forming a pool of blood on the floor. "Really."

"Really."

She turned and grabbed the tux again. "Now. I just get this home before my filthy hands accidentally touch the fabric or something!" She opened the door. "Thank you again, Desk Man, James, Woman, and everyone else."

When she shut the door, she immediately ran into who she least expected.

Rose hid her bloody hand behind the tux, holding it in front of her body to hide the mess on her shirt as well.

It was.

None other than.

Him.

Glad in all dark blue, a navy color billowing around him in the form of a long cloak. He had a tall, dark butler standing behind him.

"Excuse us," the butler spoke. "We've heard reports of a break-in. Is this store alright?"

She nodded. "I don't suppose they're going to be open again for a while, but I assure you that the problem is solved in there." She gave a quick curtsy, turning to the young lord before her. He was smaller. Shorter. But still very respectable, clearly, because she scurried away without so much as a glance toward his face. Hopefully they wouldn't suspect that she had committed the murder. But they were smart. Surely they would find her if they decided that she needed a sentence for justice.

But perhaps they would simply take her as a vigilante and go on to investigate the serial thief that that they'd been stalking for some time.

Perhaps she wasn't big enough bait. After all, a simple commoner girl wasn't exactly worth much remembrance.


End file.
